Urban Evolution
Sorcery
Draw three cards. You may play an additional land this turn.
- CMC
- 5
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- GU
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Ultimate Masters
- Price
- $0.17
- EDHREC rank
- #2191
Urban Evolution puts a land into play and draws three cards for five mana — that's a two-for-one that also hits your mana base. It's not the most efficient spell in Simic, but Quandrix, the Proof and land-matters builds run it because the combination of effects is exactly what those decks want on turn five.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Quandrix, the Proof
Quandrix, the Proof triggers off lands entering and off drawing cards, so Urban Evolution delivers both in a single cast — it's effectively two separate triggers stapled to one spell.
Omo, Queen of Vesuva
Omo, Queen of Vesuva cares about land types and board development, and Urban Evolution's land drop plus card selection helps Omo hit her mana requirements while keeping the hand full for the mid-game.
Nine-Fingers Keene
Nine-Fingers Keene rewards playing lands from unusual zones and values card volume, making Urban Evolution a natural inclusion — the land drop and three cards both advance the same axis.
Jolrael, Voice of Zhalfir
Jolrael, Voice of Zhalfir converts raw card draw into 1/1 tokens, so Urban Evolution drawing three on your turn is three triggers at instant speed if you can flash it in — the land is almost incidental.
Aesi, Tyrant of Gyre Strait
Aesi, Tyrant of Gyre Strait already rewards every land drop with a card draw, so Urban Evolution's land entry under Aesi nets a fourth card effectively, making five mana feel much closer to fair.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Urban Evolution is a Commander card, full stop. In 60-card formats where it's legal — Modern, Pioneer, Legacy, Vintage — five mana for a sorcery-speed draw-three is nowhere near competitive, and the land-drop rider doesn't compensate for the tempo loss. Commander is the one format that gives it room to breathe: the longer game, higher mana totals, and prevalence of land-synergy commanders make the five-mana ask reasonable. In Oathbreaker it's playable in the same land-matters shells but less reliable given the faster clock.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.17 bulk tier
At $0.17, Urban Evolution is deep bulk — reprinted enough times that copies are everywhere and price pressure is nonexistent. It holds that floor without risk of spiking; there's no scenario where demand outruns supply on a five-mana sorcery with this many printings.
Explore
Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.